Portraits of billion-dollar casinos in Vietnam (part 2)

TheLEADERUp to now, Vietnam has a total of seven licensed and operational casinos for foreigners and three major casinos are under construction, including Van Don (Quang Ninh), Phu Quoc and Nam Hoi.

Casino Crowne (Da Nang) - Source: TheLEADER

As the casino business has long been considered a sensitive sector, Vietnam has just a few legitimate casinos.

In part 1, TheLeader introduced five active casinos. In the part 2, we would like to introduce 2 other active casinos and 3 casino projects that are underway.

Casino Crowne (Da Nang)

Casino Crowne in Da Nang is owned by Hui Kong China which is famous for VIP gamblers from China. During peak season, there are about 130 direct flights from China to Da Nang each week.

The Crowne Casino has 100 slot machines and 8 gaming tables. The casino is opened 24 hours a day and provides a free shuttle service to visitors in the area.

The casino resort is expected to double the number of rooms, which is a part of a US$600 million-reinvestment plan including a hotel branded JW Marriott, a tax-free shopping center and expanded casino.

Casino Ho Tram (Ba Ria - Vung Tau)

Grand Ho Tram Strip is the largest casino resort complex in Vietnam with 90 gaming tables.

The value of project is more than US$4 billion invested by Asian Coast Development Ltd. (ACDL). Harbinger Capital Investment Fund (USA) is the main shareholder of ACDL. As of June 2017, casino developers disbursed more than US$1.1 billion for the project.

The first stage of the project was finished and opened in 2013, including 541 five-star rooms, international restaurants, convention centers, casino areas, international golf courses.

South Hoi An Casino has been licensed but still under construction. In August, the Coteccons Construction Company officially started this project. Casino Hoi An is expected to open in the first quarter of 2019.

Casino Van Don

In Van Don, the high-level tourism complex with casino project is invested by Sungroup Group with an area of 2,500 hectares, a total investment capital of over US$ 2billion, of which the investor's capital about US$312.5 million.

Van Don Complex is a residential complex, convention center, business hotel, casino, golf course, etc will be built in the Cai Bau and Tra Island.

Casino Phu Quoc

The casino will be built on an area of 30,000 square meters with 200 to 400 gambling tables and 2,000 silver gambling machines as well as conference center, international seminar and 5 star hotels with 3,000 rooms.

Regarding to this project, in early 2015, the Ministry of Construction sent a letter to the Prime Minister in order propose the relocation of the casino from Da Chong Hamlet, Bai Thom to a new location near the Vinpearl Phu Quoc.

In addition to the active and on-going casino mentioned above, many other casino projects in Vietnam are going to be relaunched or waiting for a license.

2017 is a less active year in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market than in 2016, but it also leaves a special hallmark on a series of large transactions involving the equitization of state owned enterprises.

Apart from the traditional business investment fields such as securities and real estate, in 2018 the fields associated with 4.0 generation technology, green growth are forecast to achieve outstanding growth, according to Bui Tat Thang. Ph.D - Director of Vietnam Institute for Development Strategies,

Being the general manager, Matthias Wiesmann has been facing more pressure as more resorts are opening in Danang. However, with his gentle and elegant style, he has retained the Furama as one of the most attractive luxury beachside resorts in Vietnam.

The Vinfast automobile project has an express speed, which surprised people having specialist knowledge in this industry. I was also surprised by the vigorous spirit of Vingroup and the creative colleagues at Vinfast.

When metro systems are put into operation, more developers would invest in large-scale real estate projects across the cities, according to American professional services and investment management company specializing in real estate JLL.